Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers. – Isaac Asimov

Guest Post: 19 Things My Friends and Family Said About My Book

We are thrilled to have Bethany Chase, author of THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY available in MARCH 31, with 19 things her friends and family said about her book.

1. My editor friend, circa 2010, after reading my very first draft: “You need to understand it is a compliment when I tell you I did not expect this to be this good. Usually when my friends give me things to read it’s very much a ‘don’t quit your day job’ conversation.”

2. My husband, circa 2011: “Why won’t you let me read a draft of your book?”Me: “Because I’m self-conscious. You don’t get to read it until it’s on a shelf at a bookstore and I can’t stop you from buying it.”

3. Everyone, at any given point in time: “Hey, do you want to come to this fun event?”Me: “I can’t, I have to write.”

4. Everyone, March 2013: “Your book is done? When do I get to read it?”Me: “AAAAAAAAhahahahahahahahaha”

5. My newly-acquired agent, April 2013: “So is the love interest based on your husband? He must be an amazing guy.”

6. My editor, July 2013: “So is the love interest based on your husband? He must be an amazing guy.”

7. My husband’s friends, July 2013: “So is the love interest based on Allen?”

8. My husband’s friends, July 2013: “So is the main character based on you?”Me: “No, not really.”Me: “I mean, it’s pure coincidence that she’s also an only child from the Virginia Blue Ridge who lost her mother to breast cancer at a young age, and went into an architecture-related field.”

9. Writing craft cliché: “Write what you know.”

10. Everyone, August 2013: “You got a book deal? When do I get to read it?”Me: “AAAAAAAAhahahahahahahahaha”

11. My in-laws, November 2013, over Thanksgiving dinner, escalating their arms race with their friends who have been bragging about their filmmaker son: “Bethany’s book is going to be published by Random House!”My in-laws’ friends: “That’s wonderful! Is it coming out next year?”Me: “AAAAAAAAhahahahahahahahaha”

12. My copy editor, May 2014: “You say the word ‘just’ a lot.”

13. My husband’s friend’s father, July 2014, over dinner: “You sure do have a big appetite. Are you sure you’re not pregnant? Where does it all go?”My husband: “It goes to her brain.”

———————–After growing up in the foothills of the Northern Virginia Blue Ridge, Bethany headed to Williams College for a degree in English. Only in the spring of her senior year did she begin to consider how exactly she might earn money with a degree in English. And this gave rise to the logical answer: interior design!

Bethany has been working in the architecture & design industry for over eight years now, but when she’s not hanging out with mess-makers and paint-slingers, she’s writing. And when she’s not writing, Bethany enjoys photography, karaoke, and complaining about being flat-chested.